The caretaker government has reportedly handed Awami League (AL) and BNP lists of some political leaders convicted or accused of graft, and asked the parties not to pick them as candidates for the December 18 polls.

The High Court (HC) yesterday stayed for three months the proceedings against former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in Barapukuria coal mine corruption case filed by the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC).

BNP Standing Committee Member Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky has said his party will not take action against any party man for corruption if he/she is not found corrupt in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

The home ministry's rare show cause notice on the inspector general of police (IGP) has enraged the police department leaving it with a feeling that the administration indeed treated the police as a 'weak' force.

The Election Commission (EC) will ask Awami League (AL) to correct its provisional constitution that ignored the registration laws by retaining the provisions for associated organisations involving students and workers, and chapters abroad.

Six local and foreign power companies yesterday submitted attractive bids in the tender for a 50-megawatt three-year rental power scheme in Chittagong that the government wants to bring online before June next year.

Awami League (AL)-led 14-party combine yesterday asked the caretaker government to create a congenial atmosphere for the upcoming parliamentary elections by withdrawing the state of emergency and unconditionally releasing AL President Sheikh Hasina.

The High Court (HC) yesterday extended for two weeks its earlier orders that had directed the government not to harass or arrest Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina at home or abroad in Niko and barge-mounted power plant cases.

Barrister Rafique-ul Huq, counsel for Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, yesterday said he was still optimistic about a meeting between the two leaders in the interest of the country.

Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama head into the final 19-day stretch of their presidential campaigns Thursday after a feisty final debate that snap polls say further cemented Obama's lead in the race.

Editorial

We are surprised, to say the least, about the show cause notice served on the Inspector General of Police, the highest ranking police official of the country, for speaking out publicly about the delay in police reform, something without which we cannot expect any significant change in police performance.

The government has finally taken the matter of foreign trips by bureaucrats seriously. That is certainly encouraging news owing specifically to the fact that there has been a growing trend among government functionaries --- right from the top of the administration --- to undertake frequent trips abroad. In the process, it has been the image of the officials as well as of the government in the public eye that has taken quite a battering. While this penchant for travel among people in the government has been there for years, it has especially been in the past twenty months that there has been a flurry of foreign travel on the part of both advisers in the present government and senior civil servants. With advisers weighed down by the responsibility of having to deal with two or three ministries each, such trips have a telling effect on decision-making in the government.

LAST week would have been more appropriate to write about Ernesto Che Guevara since October 9 was his death anniversary. I am late not because I forgot, but because I dithered. How should I remember a man who is larger than life? Death anniversaries only commemorate lives, which are over. But that isn't true for Che Guevara. His life has become more than before after he died.

NO passport has yet been devised that can take one easily across the borderline of fear. Pakistan used to fear annihilation by India; now it fears hegemony. India used to fear invasion across the Line of Control in Kashmir; now it fears the export of terror.

IN a season of ironies, the greatest of all might be that John McCain lacks the toughness to get elected president. During the summer, when he had his best chance, he wasn't tough enough to remake the Republican Party in his own image; instead, he surrendered to a cynical assortment of lobbyists and right-wingers who insisted on a strategic blunder that McCain would recognise from his reading of military history -- fighting the last war.

The weather forecasters here in the port city predicted bad news for the players of Bangladesh and visiting New Zealand as the possibility of a fall in temperature today, the first day of the first Test match, is very little.

The two on-field umpires should be in charge of the review system, since they are the ones held responsible for any errors, a senior International Cricket Council (ICC) official has said. The system, first trialled internationally on India's recent tour of Sri Lanka, will be tried out in four more series over the next few months.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Harris called up all his experience to hold the nerves and lead Hyderabad Heroes to a four-wicket victory over Dhaka Warriors in their second Indian Cricket League T20 match at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium here on Wednesday night.

The biggest question India grappled with a day before the start of the second Test was the fitness of Anil Kumble, their captain and an integral part of a two-spin, two-pace attack. The answer, about 21 hours before the captains walked out for the toss, was the same as it was in Kanpur earlier this year. He was troubled by a bad shoulder then, as he is now.

Ricky Ponting has said that the disappointing form of his opposing captain Anil Kumble could turn into an issue for India at the selection table in the lead-up to the second Test. Kumble, who turns 38 on Friday, failed to collect a wicket in the first Test and has faced intense media scrutiny about retirement plans.

David Morgan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) president, has expressed his confidence that Sri Lanka's tour of England next May would go ahead as planned, despite fears that a number of their leading players will instead opt for the financial lure of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Paraguay streaked six points clear in the South American World Cup qualifying standings with a goal claimed by both Edgar Benitez and Oscar Cardozo nine minutes from time enough to edge Peru 1-0 at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco.

Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Torres faces a battle to be fit for next week's Champions League outing against former club Atletico Madrid after he picked up a thigh injury in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Belgium, Spanish team doctor Oscar Celada said.

Business

Trade imbalance narrowed 32 percent in July, the first month of the current fiscal, compared to the same month a year earlier, mainly because of high export earnings and declining commodity prices in the world market.

Telecom regulators of South Asian countries recently interacted with each other to discuss how best they could introduce the next generation network, an approach to the delivery of many services over a single network in a bid to provide services at affordable costs.

TM International (BD) Ltd (AKTEL), one of the country's leading mobile phone service provider, recently hosted a reception in Dhaka to welcome its new shareholder, NTT DoCoMo Inc, the largest mobile telecommunications company in Japan, according to a press statement.

Although the financial crisis began in the world's richest nation, there is good reason to worry about how it will affect the world's poor. The contagions of freeze-up and slowdown will spread through many channels: trade, investment, migration, and more.

Switzerland announced emergency measures to prop up its vital banking sector on Thursday, pouring almost 60 billion dollars into the biggest bank UBS, one of heaviest losers from the US subprime crisis.

National Life Insurance Co Ltd elected sponsor directors Tofazzal Hossain and Abdul Monem as chairman and vice chairman at a recent meeting of the company's Board of Directors, according to a press release.

With a call for unity of lawyers irrespective of their party affiliation and opinion for the restoration of democracy, the 4th national conference of Bangladesh Gonotantrik Ainjibi Samity was inaugurated at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium in the city yesterday.

Primary school teachers will go for tougher agitations demanding cancellation of the government circular to hand over the responsibility of monitoring all primary schools in 30 upazilas to Brac, a non-government organisation.

Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee and South Asian People's Union against Fundamentalism and Communalism (SAPUFC) yesterday condemned the removal of five sculptures from the roundabout in front of Zia International Airport.

Letters

The recent debacle in the share market raised concern among share investors. They demonstrate in front of the main bourse of Dhaka share market to register their protest over fall of share prices of different companies in which they invested. They brand the price fall of shares as a conspiracy being engineered by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) which regulates the market. The claim of small shareholders cannot be dismissed outright. When share prices rise once in a blue moon to the great advantage of small holders and continues for two-three days, the SEC becomes busy to correct the market by a mechanism not known to the common shareholders. But the SEC is not at all concerned when share prices fall which is evident from their activities. At the time of fall, they only issue a press note that there is nothing to worry about, the market will rise automatically. But their premise is not at all correct. The small investors want the SEC to correct the bearish market once it goes down and lift it up for the small shareholders. In this case also, the SEC can use the mechanism the way they use it to correct the bullish market. When prices of every item go up, right from green chilly to automobiles, then why share prices of different companies will not rise? Small investors invested in the share market to make some profit from buying and selling process of different shares. They do not have enough money to start large-scale business in other sectors which requires a lot of money. And that is why they entered the share market as a last resort to do clean business investing whatever capital is left with them.

Results of HSC exams this year were published on September 10, 2008. Everybody was elated with the high number of GPA-5 achievers. But the sad truth is that most of them wont' get admission in their chosen subjects or universities.

Price hick of daily commodities is a common phenomenon these days. People, who belong to the low-income group, suffer most due to the price hike. Sometimes we blame our government, but we have nothing to do about the matter.

The letter published in The Daily Star on October 8 under the heading “Sexual harassment by teacher” written by Mr. M Anam appeared to me to be a unique example of misinterpretation of Ms. Nasrin Pervin's letter of September 25 on the same subject.

Cough syrups which are supposed to alleviate a distressful cough are being used as a drug of addiction. Many young people are addicted to it. This is spreading at an alarming rate in urban, suburban as well as rural areas of the country. It is very disheartening to watch young men entering medicine shops and asking for cough syrup, some even don't bother to make an excuse and take away a few bottles of them together with tranquilliser tablets of their choice.

After a long time, Bangladesh cricket team achieved a great victory against New Zealand. This victory came when our performance was not being satisfactory, and the ICL shock had further numbed our cricket.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for your letter published on 6 October. Your prompt response to Dr. Kazi Mizanur Rahman's letter has won the hearts of the people planning to visit your wonderful country either for a holiday or to seek medical help. Your invitation to address you directly by email is proof of your quality as a true ambassador of your great country who wants to reach out to the people of Bangladesh to establish goodwill, friendship and understanding between the two countries.

The Chief Election Commissioner recently said that they are directing Bangladesh Bank to instruct all schedule banks and financial institutions to prepare the loan defaulters' list in advance, as there may be time constraint in the scrutiny of election candidature validity for the forthcoming general election.

Recently, 53000 Chinese children have been sickened by the tainted milk formula. The health ministry of China said that more than 80% of the 1,23,892 children hospitalised in recent weeks were 2 years old or younger. Among them 4 children have already died and 104 children are hospitalised in serious condition. China's health minister informed that 6,244 babies fell ill after being fed tainted milk and that 158 were suffering from acute kidney failure.

I am deeply disturbed to read in the newspaper about the recent disturbances between students of Comilla Medical College and staff of Medical Assistants' Training School (MATS), which lead to the closure of the Medical College.

I have just come from the market. I am quiet helpless because I have to carry fish and certain dry goods like rice and pulse (dal) in polythene bags (polythene is polymer of ethane). 1st Jan 2002--the use of polythene bags is banned in Dhaka city, with a nationwide ban to follow on the 1st of March.

Every year many of our ministers, MPs, secretaries to the govt. of Bangladesh, govt, semi-govt and public sector officials, military, trade and cultural delegations and sports teams etc. go abroad. But there is no complete and comprehensive report or information available in our Ministry of Finance or Bangladesh Bank as to how many of them went to abroad and what amount of money was spent from our public exchequer.

Your daily has published many letters about the ill effects of the “hydraulic horns of trucks & buses” amongst the citizens of Dhaka and other cities of Bangladesh. Unfortunately, the law enforcing agencies like the police have not taken any action against the drivers/owners of trucks, buses, large container vehicles, trailer vehicles etc. as yet.

For our day-to-day financial transactions we have to use one, two and five taka notes and/or coins. But people often fall in trouble while transacting as the lower valued notes/coins are in short supply. For this, sometimes people have to give one or two taka more or the shopkeepers or the receivers have to take less than the actual price.

Ridiculous! Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin recently labelled Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama as a 'friend of terrorists'! I think, Republicans, more precisely people within the 'Bush Circle' are suffering from the 'mistrust and insecurity syndrome'. Otherwise, how could Palin make such a statement against her own countryman Obama who has already proved his patriotism and popularity?

The folly of free market economy and globalisation could not be exposed in a more disastrous way than the fall of Wall Street and the credit crunch. The preachers of free market economy had been so blind to their dogma of opening the market that it always questioned the common sense.

Bangladesh is derailed from the democratic track. We had hoped that the CTG would be able to fulfil our expectations. But with the passage of time, the govt. moved away from its strong principled position. Forgetting the interest of general people, the have started to act like the much-maligned politicians.

The United States said Wednesday it would send a mission to India in December to explore business opportunities following a landmark pact to open up sales of civilian nuclear technology to the country.

Skipping the monsoon session because of a confidence vote and meeting now with "erstwhile friends" in opposition benches, Parliament begins a new session on Friday that is likely to be stormy on a number of issues like communal violence, terror attacks and price rise.

Property mogul and diehard Republican Donald Trump told CNN on Wednesday that President George W. Bush misled the US into the Iraq War and should have been impeached when the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006.

Arts & Entertainment

It was a treat for the metal and alternative music fans. The pioneering metal band of the country Warfaze performed their popular songs back-to-back at a concert titled "Union concert of Warfaze". The concert was organised on October 15 at the Winter Garden of Hotel Sheraton to observe the 25th anniversary of the band.

Beginning as a child artiste, Tisha has a high media profile. Now one of the busiest TV actress of her time, a talented Tisha has been eclectic in her tastes -- be it singing, modelling or hosting programmes. In particular, her onscreen presence and brilliant acting in diverse roles, has made her a popular figure with both the young and old. The actress recently talked with The Daily Star about her current activities, acting and more.

The film, photography and lyrics contest "Celebrating Life '08" organised by Standard Chartered and The Daily Star generated an amazing response from all corners of the country. The gala finale took place on August 22 at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre. Chief Advisor Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed was present at the event that featured performances by Subir Nandi, Samina Chowdhury, Fahmida Nabi, Shafin Ahmed, Sayed Hasan Tipu and Mashiur Rahman Rinku.

OP-ED

Chowdhury Tanvir Ahmed Siddiky is the founder treasurer of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and was a member of the National Standing Committee since its inception. He was a member of the second parliament and served as state minister in 1980-81. Siddiky was the president of FBCCI in 1979 and DCCI in '76-'78 and worked as director of former National Bank of Pakistan and Janata Bank. He was born on February 14, 1939, and is currently chairman and managing director of Baliadi Siddiky group of commerce and industries. Rakib Hasnet Suman and Rashidul Hasan took this interview.

ORDINARILY, violence means unjust or callous use of force or power. Till 1857 (the year of the Sepoy Mutiny), Bangalees were regarded as timid. By leading the Sepoy Mutiny, they proved that they were in no way inferior to any other Indian in courage and fortitude. Bangladeshis showed their indomitable courage under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

WHEN the world first learned about HIV/AIDS in the early eighties there was confusion, stigma and little scientific information. At first, many thought it was a disease of homosexuals because the first identified cases were from that group. Almost everybody in the regular society thought the new infection posed no direct threat.

StarTech

Students at the University of Washington (USA) have developed a voice activated mouse, according to a report in the Seattle Times. This could mean more accessible computers to people with disabilities.